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John left the gym and looked over at Pokéstock '99, which was now in full swing. Score was on the stage trying to give away a Rhydon.
"Hey John, Where are you going?" Tiki asked.
"I'm heading back to the Game Corner, see if I can be a winner."
John soon reached the building and entered.
"Excuse me, sir, you're going to have to put your Pokémon back into its Pokéball."
"Oh, ok, Ariel, return!" John bought some coins, then sat down at a machine and started.
Click. Charmander. Click. Charmeleon. Click. Blastoise! "Damn!"
John changed machines. CLick. Pokédex. Click. Pokéflute. Click. Jigglypuff. A couple of coins popped out. Looking around, John saw one machine that interested him. Match up three symbols, get the Pokémon. John placed a couple of coins in the slot,and pulled the lever. Scyther. Pinsir. Jigglypuff. Undeterred, he tried again. Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff. Eevee.
"Damn Eevee. Jonpageori could've had a singing partner." Dratini. Dratini. Dragonaire. "Aggh!" Scyther. Pikachu. Raichu.
Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff. A small package popped out. John opened it, and kaboom! His face was black. He tossed the package into the trash. Last coin. Dratini. Dratini. Dratini! This time, a slip of paper appeared. John took it over to the Prize Center and collected a Pokéball. He opened it up and the small dragon Pokémon popped out, then leaped on his shoulder. Satisfied, he headed back and saw Pipian.
"Hey Pip!"
"John! You have a Dratini! Damn you! I wanted one!"
The Dratini looked at Pipian and proceeded to switch shoulders. John laughed. "Well,it seems to like you alot, so why don't you have it?"
"Are you sure?"
"Go ahead. I'll try for a different Pokémon." John gave Pipian the Pokéball, then secretly cursed and headed back to the Game Corner...
re: by Shimarisu
Only to be stopped dead in his tracks, as he felt something strange wrap around his stomach. He had the odd feeling that he was walking on thin air. He looked down, and realised that he indeed was walking on thin air. And then he realised what had happened.
The robust little Ivysaur that had become his captor grinned oddly, and lowered him to the floor. It retracted the vines that had held him, now it had got his attention.
"What?" John was confused.
"Saur!" said the creature, meaningfully but also rather pointlessly. It seemed awfully pleased to see him. "Saur!" it said again. And then it did something rather bizarre. It whipped out one of its vines again, and smacked it against the pocket of his jeans, making the money inside it jangle. And then it grinned once more, almost politely.
"Saur!" it said, meaninglessly.
"What?" John repeated, making up the pretty pointless interchange.
"Saur!" Again it struck his pocket. Again John heard the coins, that he was about to exchange for the equivalents to use in Game Corner. And then the realisation hit home.
"You want some money?" he ventured incredulously.
"Saur!"
"But you're a Pokemon! What could you do with it? Anyway, it's mine, I was about to use it on the machines."
The Ivysaur looked disappointed. But it also looked like it wasn't likely to budge. John got the feeling that if he walked away, this persistant little creature would probably follow. Who did it belong to, anyway? He looked around. There was nobody watching, so obviously the owner, if there was one was absent. It was most puzzling.
What sort of Pokemon - besides a Meowth of course - was interested in human currency?
re: by syke6888 L
John pondered this a little, then decided the best way to get an answer was to give up a couple of coins to the Ivysaur. Happy, the little creature gave out a loud "Saur!" and ran off. John secretly followed the creature, Ariel at his side. He almost lost it a few times, but had also released Tara for eye-in-the-sky surveillance. Soon the little creature stopped and John said, "Who's there?
Re: By Shimarisu
A young woman walked out of the shadows. She was painfully thin, her hair was unkempt and her skin was wet, and red as if she'd hastily scrubbed away at it to get it clean. She smelt of the kind of pungent soap that you only find in public washrooms. Bruises covered the exposed areas of her body. But her eyes shone through all this, an almost iridescent green. She was wearing what appeared to be a black Team Rocket uniform, with the 'R' missing across the front and the seams all showing. This too, appeared to have been hastily scrubbed - it was dripping and bore the marks of soap residue. John guessed, correctly, that she'd turned the tunic inside out in a somewhat futile attempt to hide her identity.
She glanced across the area in his field of vision, but her eyes never once stopped to take anything in. He hadn't seen her look at him, but somehow he knew that she was well aware of his presence. But she did not display any interest in this. Instead she regarded the Ivysaur at her feet.
"I told you" she stated, "that I don't need any of this. I can find my own food and clothing, so stop patronising me."
The Ivysaur seemed nevertheless happy at its accomplishment. It nudged the coins that the woman had not taken towards her boots.
"Saur!" it said.
"I'm sure you're very pleased with yourself. But I never told you what to do, so stop making people think that I did! It makes them think I'm one of them!" She turned away slightly as if to indicate a certain lack of interest in the creature.
"Saur!"
She turned around suddenly as if in defeat, then subsequently snatched up the coins in a defiant air that suggested victory. "Fine," she said. "Looks like I'm buying you some dinner today. That was what you wanted, wasn't it?" She smiled defiantly.
"Saur?" The Ivysaur looked defeatedly at the ground. It was disappointed, not from its inability to communicate a point, but in its mistress' refusal to accept it. And the woman was already striding meaningfully towards the nearest shop that sold tasty Pokesnacks. After what appeared to be a moment's deliberation, the creature followed.
John had taken all this in, and was surprised that the woman had ignored him for the whole time he was there, stood out in the open observing the bizarre conversation. It occurred to him that while the Ivysaur was robust and well fed, its trainer appeared on the brink of starvation. And yet she didn't seem weakened by this - she was already pushing open the heavy door of the shop with defiant abandon. Ivysaur plodded some metres behind, looking singularly fed up with the whole situation.
re: by syke6888 L
"Woah," was all John could say about the current situation. What was going on here? Surely she was Team Rocket, but since when is a Rocket as low on the totem pole as her? But despite her looks and luck, there was an independence about her that radiated like a lamp. She had ignored him the entire time, and refused her Ivysaur's help. John decided to follow her and find out more.
"Leave me alone," the woman said to him. John was surprised.
"Why? You look like you need help."
"I'm fine. Just go, and thanks anyways."
"Look, I'm not going 'til I know more about you. Who are you? What's wrong?"
re: by Shimarisu
"Nothing's wrong. Now leave me alone." She made to close the door in his face, but there were people in her way who wanted to get out. And Ivysaur was by now trying its best to grab her hand using one of its vines - it wanted those coins she held to be spent elsewhere. Murasaki snatched the probing vine out of the air and held it tightly. Ivysaur looked dejected.
"I'm not going." John was adamant.
"Fine then, I don't care what you do."
She walked up to the counter, and made a point of peering at a menu that was laid out on top of it, even though she couldn't read a word. After deciding that she'd spent the required amount of time perusing it, she addressed the cashier who was looking at her in a funny way. As a result of the unwanted inspection that she was receiving from two parties, she sounded noticably irritated.
"I want some food. For a plant pokemon." She abruptly dropped the coins on the counter. "Is this enough?"
The man serving continued to eye her suspiciously, as he reached behind and took down a packet of something nondescript from the shelves that lined the back of the shop. He soundlessly pushed it onto the counter. Murasaki picked up the packet with finger and thumb, as if it was some foreign object that she really didn't want to touch. It didn't look like it contained much, some vitamins perhaps? But Murasaki decided not to argue, it was too much effort. She haughtily stalked out of the door, with John still following her. She released the vine that she still held in her hand, and Ivysaur retracted it.
"Here," she said, addressing the creature. "I don't know what you do with it, but it might do you some good." She broke open the packet and dropped the contents - which looked like pellet-sized biscuits, onto the floor. Ivysaur gave in, and made a point of eating them noisily. Murasaki pretended to take great interest in watching the pokemon eat, but she nevertheless grew more and more irritated by the presence of the person still standing behind her. She was about to tell John to go away again, but then something occurred to her. She turned, and examined him closely. Scruffy jeans and T-shirts were certainly not her style, but the situation had become somewhat desperate...
John felt very uneasy. There was something very disconcerting about this woman's eyes. Nevertheless he tried again.
"Look. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Murasaki smiled, though it was not a pleasant expression. "I told you, I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help. But if you have some spare clothes you can give me, and you give them to me, and then leave me alone, I may consider it fortuitous."
She sniffed, as if to indicate that she didn't care what happened either way. But an unpleasant feeling was creeping up her spine. The neurosis grew, and threatened to take over her body, she felt the hairs on her arms tingle as if responding to a threat. She shivered, but then swallowed and allowed the bad feelings to disperse.
This was not asking for help. It was not admitting that she needed help. She just wanted this kid to go away. And that was all...
re: by syke6888 L
"Sigh. There are some peple you just can't help," John thought. He reached into his backpack and pulled out some clothes. He placed them near the girl, then left. As he left, he took one last glance at the strange girl.
Awhile later John found himself back at Pokéstock. Looking around, he decided to find T.A.C. and hopefully get the thought of the girl out of his mind.
TBC?
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